In 1942, a somewhat eccentric British-born, sometime inventor by the name of Geoffrey Pyke, was working on a design for a vehicle intended for use by troops operating in deep snow conditions, such as those encountered in Norway, which was under German occupation. The automotive system involved using two large helix screws operating in counter-rotating directions to propel the box-shaped vehicle over the snow. It was a complex design and, although a prototype vehicle was prepared for trials, the idea did not progress any further. In any event, apart from small-scale Commando operations, the Allies never mounted any serious operations in Norway.
Somehow, for reasons never really made clear, the concept of Pyke’s vehicle came to the attention of the design team of the Studebaker Corporation, based at Southbend, Ind. The company had been founded in 1854 by the five Studebaker brothers for the production of horse-drawn wagons and later automobile manufacturing. During WWI, the company produced thousands of sets of saddlery for the U.S. Army, which was still using great numbers of horses. Studebaker also produced and supplied gasoline